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Update: The Swell Season announce hiatus

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Update: Hansard denies The Swell Season are breaking up, writing on his Twitter, “If anyone is going to announce the end of The Swell Season it’ll be us.. Forget what anyone else says.. Were not breaking up..” So let’s call it a hiatus instead?

Update #2: The band’s PR emphasizes that that there is no break up, and that Hansard and Irglova will instead embark on previous announced side-projects during this hiatus. The Spinner interview was conducted three weeks prior to last week’s suicide incident and Hansard’s comments are in no way in response to that. Spinner has since updated its article to reflect this.

In what amounts to a very crappy week for The Swell Season, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova have all but confirmed that their Oscar winning partnership is over. Hansard’s old band, The Frames, have already announced new tour dates and he recently told Spinner.com that “getting together and making music with Mar was a side thing for me, but it felt absolutely right. He says he’s planning a return to The Frames and that The Swell Season “will eventually naturally end,” adding, “the thing I’ve learned with this band is that when you’re political and careerist about it, it doesn’t work – it just shines less.”

The news comes at a bad time for the Irish folk-rock duo, as last week saw San Jose, Calif. resident Michael Pickels commit suicide by jumping from the top of a building on to the stage during a concert at the Saratoga Winery. Hansard says the breakup has nothing to do with the tragedy, and while Irglova hasn’t officially commented on the news, he predicts that his songwriting partner (and one time lover) will go on to make a record of her own at some point in time. She’s been playing a new song titled “Crossroads” on tour, and Hansard thinks the piano driven ballad may be on her solo effort. “It’s amazing,” he said of the tune, “I think she’s an incredible songwriter and I think she could make a really beautiful record.”

Check out “Crossroads” below and catch Hansard in action with The Frames on one of their upcoming dates. If you want to catch the few remaining Swell Season shows, you’ll have to catch a plane and see them at one of the following international stops. Tickets are available through the band’s website.